Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1517309
There was a whiff of 2023 about how the weekend panned out. As polesitter Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) won a tense Yet look hard enough, and there was plenty to suggest the current MotoGP hegemony won't last forever, thanks to the highly promising performances posted by Marquez in his first race off a Honda in 11 years and Acosta, appearing in a premier class race for the very first time. The showings from both Span - iards suggested there would be tougher tests to come for the reigning champion, as Marquez came home fourth, just 3.5 seconds behind. Acosta, mean- while, was largely responsible for a series of breathless moments in the first 10 laps, as he rose from 10th to fourth in stunning fashion before tire wear caused him to drop back to ninth. At one point, he even had the temerity to pass his compatriot, fueling hopes of a stunning maiden podium. "Completely amazing," he said of his rise through the field. There hasn't been a rookie debut this good since Marquez's own effort at this track 11 years before. ROUND 1 / MARCH 8-10, 2024 LUSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / LUSAIL, QATAR MOTOGP I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP P94 20 FABIO QUARTARARO 12TH / 11TH MOTOGP Former World Champion Fabio Quar- tararo was aboard the top-placing Japanese motorcycle. He finished out the evening 11th on the Monster Energy Yamaha. "It was really tough," Quartararo said. "During the test, we already saw that we are still far from the top, but for the race one, maybe we expected something a bit differ- ent. But in the end, the performance level was similar to the test, so we still have work to do. Hopefully, it won't take long to correct this." 42 ALEX RINS 17TH / 16TH MOTOGP Quartararo's Yamaha teammate Alex Rins didn't fare much better. "Honestly, we suffered a lot during this race," Rins said. "We tried to do our best, and I was coming from way back down the order towards the front. We were gaining, and lap by lap, I was feeling better and better. I got into the top 11 behind Joan Mir and Fabio [Quartararo], but with six laps to the end, the right side of the front tire dropped dramatically, and I started to lose many, many seconds. In the right corners, I couldn't use the right leaning angle." MYOWNRACE Bagnaia and the Lenovo Ducati team, including Valentino Rossi, celebrate the Italian's big win. Brad Binder (33) proved that the KTM is competitive against the onslaught of Ducatis.